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By: Bill Jeffers

Our community has four men running for Mayor of Evansville, two as Democrats and two as Republicans. At the same time, the city council and county commissioners are conducting a series of workshops to modify the plan of reorganization of Vanderburgh County and Evansville municipal government submitted by the reorganization committee appointed by the mayor, the two councils, and the county commissioners. Therefore, it seems appropriate to ask each candidate for Mayor of Evansville exactly what his opinion is of the plan of reorganization, how the plan should be modified, whether a plan of consolidated government should be adopted, specifically how a consolidated government will or will not benefit Evansville, and specifically how each candidate would implement his powers and duties under a plan of consolidation if one were to pass the referendum in 2012.

Bottom line, it is time for the candidates to stop skirting this issue, and tell us exactly what they think and how they plan to support the plan, or work against the plan, and how they would behave and institute policy as mayor if and when a merger referendum passes.

Okay, here are some key issues, most of which each candidate for mayor has used in his political advertising, along with some questions asking how the candidate specifically will address each issue:
Retaining Existing Jobs and Creating New “Good” Jobs: Well, all the candidates claim to support job retention, and promise to create “good” jobs as Mayor of Evansville. Most claim job creation as issue #1, and each says he is about the business of bringing “good” jobs to Evansville. So, let’s hear from each candidate specifically how consolidated government will attract new jobs and retain existing jobs. Will it? How exactly? What exactly is a “good” job? And how will each candidate utilize his powers as mayor, under the reorganization plan, to attract new jobs and retain existing jobs. No hedging. No generic talking points. Please, just specifics related to the consolidation plan. As a side bar, how does each candidate view the fact that the reorganization plan avoids reducing existing government jobs, and thus shows no cost savings?

Responsible Municipal Budgeting and “No New Taxes:” Everyone knows Evansville municipal government faces budgetary crisis due to reduced population, deteriorating housing stock, reduced property valuations, rising healthcare costs for municipal employees, rising costs for fuel and supplies, and unfunded federal mandates imposing huge future bond debt. So, how does each mayoral candidate view the reorganization plan’s potential impact on the city budget when none of the pressing monetary issues are addressed by the plan, no cost savings are identified by the plan, the plan proposes to reduce the sewer rates for 1/3 of the jurisdiction while the federal EPA has mandated a half-billion dollars in sewer upgrades, etc.? Additionally, how can a mayoral candidate pledge to hold the line on taxes when at the same time supporting a plan of consolidation that will raise taxes and user fees on every single property owner countywide? What say all four mayoral candidates?

Public Safety: Yes, all candidates for mayor always claim public safety as one of the top two priorities during a campaign, as it should be. So, how does each of the four candidates for Mayor of Evansville see the roll of Sheriff and the roll of Chief of Police under the current plan of consolidation? How would each of the four candidates for mayor modify the plan of consolidation to fit his vision of a unified public safety department? Or alternately, how would each mayoral candidate organize the various departments of public safety if he were able to wave a magic wand and make the merger plan coincide with his vision for Evansville? Please be specific, and answer this one as if consolidation of local government is inevitable.

Listening to the People, Transparency, Accountability, etc.: All these words are warm and fuzzy when appearing on banners and in speeches. But each word has a meaning, and words such as these convey powerful images. So, as Mayor of Evansville, how would each candidate implement policies under a plan of consolidation to reflect his pledge to listen, be accountable to the People, and conduct a transparent government?

Before answering exactly how you would fulfill your pledge of open communications, transparency, and accountability to the People, thoroughly read the plan of consolidation. And please keep in mind that the current plan of consolidation creates a “strong mayor” with substantial powers to control all the other elected officeholders via his appointed budget director. Also, please take into account that the plan of consolidation gives the mayor the power to control important legislation by influencing his political caucus in the common council to withhold the super majority vote required to approve changes to the mayor’s budget submitted for other elected officeholders, or to effect future changes in the structure of government. Also under the plan of consolidation, the mayor could advise council members of his own party to attend crucial meetings only to the number required for a quorum (6) while preventing attendance to the super majority number (8) needed to amend the budget or effect a structural change, thereby killing the issue while still moving the hearing to a conclusion.

There are several sections in the plan of reorganization that grant unusually strong powers to the mayor, and each candidate should state his position on the most important of these potentialities only after carefully reading the plan. Then please state how you would modify the plan, or how you would execute policy under the plan when you become mayor of a consolidated municipality.

One Last Batch of Questions: If you are elected Mayor of Evansville in 2011, take office in 2012, and the plan of consolidation in whatever form passes the referendum in 2012, will you run for mayor again in 2014? Will you accept the condition of the current plan that the mayor will only serve and be paid to serve three years (2012, 2013, and 2014) instead of the customary four years, if the referendum passes? Do you approve the plan’s mandate that municipal elections in the off-presidential year 2014, a year sure to be one of hugely divisive national politics as are all off-presidential years? Or do you feel that municipal elections should continue to occur in odd-numbered years as currently provided by statute? Do you favor non-partisan municipal elections, or favor partisan elections as the plan proposes?

One of the four men currently on the 2011 primary ballot for Mayor of Evansville will begin serving as our mayor in 2012, when the consolidation plan goes to a referendum vote. It should be important to each of the four candidates for mayor that the voters of Evansville have a clear picture of his stand on the plan of consolidation right now, before the vote on Primary Day, May 3, 2011. Fact is, early voting already is under way, and daylight is burning waiting for specifics on the issues.

Atlas Shrugged’s Relevance is as applicable today as it was when it was written

Atlas Shrugged Movie: Part I Film Synopsis

Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) runs Taggart Transcontinental, the largest remaining railroad company in America, with intelligence, courage and integrity, despite the systematic disappearance of her best and most competent workers.

She is drawn to industrialist Henry Rearden (Grant Bowler), one of the few men whose genius and commitment to his own ideas match her own. Rearden’s super-strength metal alloy, Rearden Metal, holds the promise that innovation can overcome the slide into anarchy.

Using the untested Rearden Metal, they rebuild the critical Taggart rail line in Colorado and pave the way for oil titan Ellis Wyatt (Graham Beckel) to feed the flame of a new American Renaissance.

Hope rises again, when Dagny and Rearden discover the design of a revolutionary motor based on static electricity – in an abandoned engine factory – more proof to the sinister theory that the “men of the mind” (thinkers, industrialists, scientists, artists, and other innovators) are “on strike” and vanishing from society.

Clip from the film when Dagny Taggert confronts a union representative:

IBISWORLD Study identifies dying American industries

1. Record retailers
2. Dealers in manufactured housing
3. Wired telecommunications carriers
4. Textile mills
5. Newspaper publishers
6. Apparel manufacturers
7. DVD, game & video rental stores
8. Providers of video postproduction services
9. The photofinishing industry
10. Renters of formal wear and costumes

http://www.ibisworld.com/Common/MediaCenter/Dying%20Industries.pdf

Louisville like other American cities including Evansville showed flight from the older neighborhoods into the suburbs. The former City of Louisville population does not seem to have seen any positive effects from the consolidation that was passed early in the decade. The population flight patterns experienced in the new Louisville-Jefferson metro serve to underline the opinion that redrawing the borders of a jurisdiction have little affect on people’s preference.

Here is a link to a color coded map that shows the growth patterns.

http://www.courier-journal.com/interactive/article/20110405/NEWS01/110405014/Graphic-2010-Census-Snapshot

EPD Activity Report April 5 2011

IS IT TRUE that it seems to have been raining 4’ x 8’ signs with Tornatta for Mayor emblazoned on them last weekend?…that it is hard to drive anywhere in Evansville without seeing one of these giant signs?…that one of the City County Observer Moles tells us that something on the order of 700 signs were planted recently by the Tornatta campaign?…that some new and creative tactics may be forthcoming from Team Troy?…that these tactics (if implemented) will be recommended by a CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT whose home base of operations is WASHINGTON DC?…that the next four weeks from the Democratic nomination perspective should be quite interesting?

IS IT TRUE that it has been a full week since the City County Observer offered the major candidates for Mayor of Evansville the opportunity to publish a position paper on their views on the consolidation?…that we have not had any acceptances from the candidates yet?…that the real hot button issue is threshold rejection?…that we reiterate our offer to the Mayoral candidates that we will publish their position papers without edit or bias on the topic of consolidation?…that the editor of the Community Observer will be issuing and in one case reissuing an invitation to participate in an e-debate specifically geared to the primaries?

IS IT TRUE that the Courier and Press has made an offer of their own to the candidates to respond to written questions?…that we congratulate them on offering to publish the well thought out responses to specific questions of relevance and interest?…that the questions that the Courier and Press have asked the candidates to respond to are limited to 60 words and deal with the issues of consolidation, sewer rate equalization, smoking ban, the future of Roberts Stadium, dilapidated housing, and job creation?…that a comprehensive answer to questions like these cannot possibly be answered with any substance in a 60 word sound bite?

IS IT TRUE that the written word in full essay form is a much more revealing way to learn how a candidates cognitive thought properties function?…that relying on sound bites to state positions has put not only our city but the entire country into a situation where the most important attribute to be elected is ACTING?…that many of the best performing leaders of history were not good actors but were very good thinkers and writers?…that an ACTORS JOB is to trick you into thinking that fantasy is reality?…that if most modern politicians were to join a union that the only union that would adequately represent them would be the SCREEN ACTORS GUILD?

IS IT TRUE that for that the City County Observer believes that it is time for the ACTING to stop and it is time for DEMONSTRATING COGNITIVE THOUGHT PROCESS as a prerequisite to be elected to public office?…that to promote that we will not impose any word limit on any position paper submitted by candidates for this year’s City of Evansville election?….that the Capital One commercial where an ACTOR assures the PILOT of a commercial aircraft that “everything is fine that he has played a pilot before” is reminiscent of MODERN ELECTED OFFICIALS?…that the higher up the ticket that one migrates the more like an ACTOR our government officials become?…that ONLY written answers with unlimited content will help to solve this issue?

IS IT TRUE that we are running a poll with respect to the Mayor of Evansville on our sister publication at www.community-observer.com?

IS IT TRUE that currently in Indiana there are no health insurance companies accepting child only policies? ….that that the Indiana Comprehensive Health Insurance Association (ICHIA) will not accept only healthy children either? ….that that it’s time that our locally elected state law makers look into this situation soon as possible?

City-County and Community Observer are conducting a Mayoral Primary Poll for both Democrat and Republican Candidates in this year’s election.

Winnecke? DeGroot?

Davis? Tornatta?

Cast your vote on Community Observer today!